About the role
Aquilon is a Birmingham digital agency helping founder-led SMEs fix their systems and their marketing. Custom software and AI automation on one side, SEO, branding and performance marketing on the other. Most agencies do one. We do both, and the overlap is where the interesting deals live.
We are hiring our first Business Development Manager to own new business from first conversation to signed contract, working directly with our founder. You will not be handed a script or a dialler. You will be handed a strong offer, real case studies, and the room to build the sales motion properly.
What you'll do
- Open conversations with founders and managing directors at established UK SMEs.
- Run discovery, build proposals, and close Media retainers yourself.
- Lead software deals alongside our founder as you build confidence.
- Spot upsell opportunities with existing clients.
- Keep an honest pipeline and forecast, reviewed weekly.
- Represent Aquilon at events across Birmingham and the Midlands.
What you'll bring
- 2+ years winning new B2B business, in an agency, software, IT or consultancy setting.
- Confident opening cold conversations and talking business, not just pitching.
- Curious about software and AI. No coding needed, but you get what systems do for a business.
- Organised, self-driven, and honest about pipeline reality.
- Commutable to Birmingham and happy to work hybrid from Brindley Place.
Nice to have
- Experience selling into manufacturing, construction or professional services.
- An existing network across the Midlands business community.
What we offer
- 01£30,000 base salary, full-time and permanent.
- 02One full month's fee for every Media retainer you sign.
- 0315% of project value on every software project won, uncapped.
- 04Year-one on-target earnings of £50,000+.
- 05Workplace pension.
- 06Hybrid working from our Brindley Place office in central Birmingham.
- 07Direct access to the founder, and the first seat on a commercial team you can help build.
How we hire
- 1Apply5 minutes
The form on this page. CV, a few quick checks and two short answers. No cover letter, no portal, no account to create.
- 2Intro call30 minutes
A founder calls you. We talk about the role, what you have done, and whether this is the right move for you. Both ways.
- 3Working session60 – 90 minutes
A realistic task from our actual work, done together, not a whiteboard puzzle. You see how we think; we see how you work.
- 4OfferWithin 48 hours
A clear written offer with the number, the start date and the plan for your first 90 days. We reply to everyone, at every stage.